To complete a wellbore, various equipment can be installed in the wellbore to allow for the production or injection of fluids from or to reservoirs surrounding the wellbore. Examples of reservoirs include hydrocarbon reservoirs, water aquifers, gas injection zones, and so forth.
The completion equipment provided in a wellbore has various components that may have to be actuated using some type of an actuating mechanism. Examples of components that are actuated include flow control devices, packers, and other types of downhole devices.
Typical actuating mechanisms for actuating downhole devices include electrical actuating mechanisms, hydraulic actuating mechanisms, mechanical actuating mechanisms, and so forth. In many cases, additional control lines, such as additional hydraulic control lines or electrical control lines, have to be run into a wellbore to allow for activation of such actuating mechanisms. This can serve to convey power as well as the control signals to activate downhole mechanisms. Running additional control lines can be relatively expensive.